(Minghui.org)
Name: Cai MeilianChinese Name: 蔡美莲Gender: FemaleAge: 76City: HuanggangProvince: HubeiOccupation: Retired power station employeeDate of Death: August 13, 2024Date of Most Recent Arrest: May 23, 2012Most Recent Place of Detention: A Brainwashing Center
A woman in Huanggang City, Hubei Province, passed away on August 13, 2024, after suffering decades of persecution for practicing Falun Gong. She was 76.
Ms. Cai Meilian, who was retired from the Xishui County Power Station, took up Falun Gong in January 1996. Many of her ailments, including gallstones, pancreatitis, sciatica, gynecological diseases, and a heart condition, disappeared. Because she remained firm in her faith after the Chinese communist regime ordered the persecution in 1999, she was repeatedly arrested and harassed. The mental distress took a toll on her health, eventually leading to her death.
Ms. Cai was first arrested shortly after the onset of the persecution when she was caring for her bedridden husband at home. She was detained for 15 days and the police extorted 1,800 yuan from her.
Ms. Cai was arrested again in September 2001, after she was reported for distributing Falun Gong materials in the countryside. She refused to tell the police her name and was interrogated for three days straight without being allowed to sleep. The police also handcuffed her behind her back for a very long time. Her right thumb became numb as a result and didn’t recover for four months. The police gave her a 1.5-year forced labor camp term. Due to her poor health, she wasn’t admitted. The plice extorted 6,800 yuan from her and released.
The next time Ms. Cai was targeted was in June 2011, when the police broke into her home and raided it. Her bedridden father, who was in his late 70s, was terrified and became incontinent.
Ms. Cai was arrested again on May 23, 2012, and held in a brainwashing center for an unknown amount of time.
The police broke into Ms. Cai’s home in 2021 to arrest her. Because she wasn’t there, they raided the place and confiscated her computer and several printers. She was forced to live away from home for several months to hide from the police.
The police harassed Ms. Cai again in May 2023 and threatened her not to practice Falun Gong anymore.
Living in such fear and under tremendous pressure due to the persecution, Ms. Cai’s health kept declining over the years. She passed away on August 13, 2024.